Home Sweet Sadie

"Freedom means choosing your burden." -Hephzibah Menuhin

One of my favorite things to do since I have moved to Los Angeles is to convince my friends to come visit! Some take more effort than others, but ya’ll know I love my friends. <3 This time I finally talked Sadie into coming back to Los Angeles with me from New Orleans. It is a lot easier to convince a friend to come visit when you have the same flight (note to self). My dad dropped us off at the New Orleans airport early that morning, and before we boarded, we grabbed some breakfast at Zatarian’s Kitchen. I was first to board the plane out of the two of us, since I have (finally!) reached A-List status with Southwest. I got the window seat and saved Sadie a middle seat. I slept hard most of the flight while Sadie snapped pictures of me sleeping and played games on her phone. We all know the middle seat isn’t as enjoyable, but what kind of best friend would I be if I didn’t rub it in her face! Once we landed at LAX we caught an uber back to my apartment and for the first time ever Sadie got to meet my besties from LA! If you’ve never had the experience of your best friend meeting your (newer) best friends, it is a moment that can make or break for your decision of friends. But, as I expected, they LOVED each other! They keep in contact and one will ask me things about the other, in concern. Sadie and I flew in on a Friday morning. I had gotten in a minor wreck a few weeks before, so my car was still in the shop on that day and I wasn’t able to get it back until Friday night. So Friday was a pretty chill day for us- I got to show Sadie my apartment and neighborhood, Highland Park, for the first time. We went to a restaurant called Homestate, which is owned by people that are from Texas. Sadie lived in Dallas for some time a couple of years ago, and California doesn't have southern queso so it was a win-win for us! On that Saturday, since I had been in New Orleans the previous week, I had to go in to work. On Sunday, Sadie, Tory and I went to the Melrose Trading Post. If you’ve never been here before, GO! It is basically an outdoor flea market where artists from different areas of expertise sell their art. It varys from furniture to decor to clothing. It is every Sunday and I honestly never really get tired or bored with going. I had work again that night and drug Sadie along with me, and again she got to meet my work friends and see where I was working. She had not visited since I had first moved to California, and I wasn’t living in the city of Los Angeles whenever she came. On Monday, we went to Venice Beach. It wasn’t the prettiest of California days, but we made the most of it. We parked off of Abbot Kinney Boulevard and walked to grab lunch at a small restaurant off of N. Venice Blvd called Mao's Kitchen. After lunch, we walked around the Venice Canals (another first for me!) and headed back towards Abbot Kinney. We stopped in a few different stores along the way on Abbot Kinney. Tuesday was her last day in town so that night we went out for a nice dinner. We decided on Pump Restaurant for dinner that night, so we dressed nicely and went out for a West Hollywood evening. Everything at Pump was AMAZING- food, drinks, service, decor, etc. A table next to us had gotten a dessert and after a few drinks, we realized it was May 2nd aka it was officially my birthday month! Those of you who know me, know that I celebrate my birthday all month long. We pulled the trick where I walked to the restroom and my friends told our server, Jason, it was my birthday. After I got back I was greeted with a delicious brownie, ice cream, and a cute sparkler candle! It was exciting and I was happy to have been able to do something in celebration of my birthday with Sadie. She flew out that next morning so it was a short trip for her. I was really excited that she agreed to come back to LA with me, and it made going back more exciting for me. Hopefully she won’t wait as long in between trips, because I miss her and so do my friends!

xo

charli